City of Lancaster bans sustainable living...more or less

March 3, 4:18 PMDallas Cooking ExaminerMarye Audet

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image:(C) marye audet

While generally I will leave the political commentary to Garry Reed, because he does it so very well, today government and food clashed right here on m y property .   I have been pulled into the maelstrom, whisk in hand, apron firmly tied around my waist, and temper flaring.

In this era of sustainable living, organics, and slow food lifestyles, the city of Lancaster has decided to start cracking down on an ordinance that they say has been on the books for the past seventeen years.  Personally, I am amazed because no one has said anything to us about it..but there ya go.  The ordinance is one that hits the sustainable living lifestyle right in the chops. 

Did you know that in the entire city of Lancaster Texas, No one is supposed to have chickens?  On 2 1/4 acres, in a more or less rural area of town people are being harassed over chickens.  Not thousands of chickens, either;  nineteen heritage breed Barred Rocks.  They don't normally go out of our backyard/pasture area.  We have had chickens for five years, by the way.  This is not about us living in a subdivision of $400,000.00 homes and being the Beverly Hillbillies.

Chickens were once the thread in the fabric of the American Dream as Hoover promised economically weary Americans a chicken in every pot.  As the rest of the country pushes for a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, as the economy slows to a crawl, as people lose jobs and food banks can't keep up with the demand for help Lancaster decides that it is going to enforce a code that no one really knew about.  According to the code enforcement officer they will be enforcing this all over town. 

We will look into it, talk to our lawyer, we will see if we have options, and ultimately we will do what we need to do to stay within the law.  That is who we are.  But for those of you looking for a small town, with a slower pace, where you can raise your kids, have a few chickens to supply the family with organic eggs, and maybe a couple of goats for organic milk that doesn't cost $6 a gallon?  Keep on driving, there is nothing to see here.

As a food writer and critic, as a cookbook author, and as a homemaker trying to feed a large family this is going to hurt financially;  I can grow organic eggs for about 50 cents a dozen.  What hurts worse is the knowledge that it isn't going to get better.  You can't move far enough or be isolated enough to get away from what is quickly becoming Big Brother. 
 

My dad and my father- in- law were WWII vets.  I am a veteran.  My husband is a disabled veteran.  My oldest son is in Iraq currently, for his second tour of duty.  And this afternoon, as I shut the door, in tears, I wondered...This is what we served for?

In the Depression a family could survive with enough land to plant a garden, a few chickens, and a goat.  Many families did just that.  Apparently they did not live in Lancaster.

3/10/09 update: We have not gotten an official letter yet, so we continue to wait.  Many of you have commented or emailed ot ask questions, so I will try to answer them.

1. Are the chickens a public nusiance?  No.  There are 3 homes on our side of the street.  Each is on acreage.  Each of us either has, or has had livestock, including chickens.  Our chickens are free range but do not go off our property and rarely out of our backyard.  We have 2 1/4 acres, and the chickens are clean and well taken care of.

2. Do you have a rooster? Yes.  We were planning at one point at raising chickens, so we have a rooster.  He stays penned because he is rather mean.   He stays in the pen where the chicken coop is, a large area.  The chickens are let out of the penned area to forage after feeding and the rooster is given fresh greens and veggie table scraps.

3. Didn't you know? No we honestly didn't.  Apparently the ordinance has been in place for 17 years but has not been enforced except when they feel like it...like now.  It is a city wide ban, meaning that even if you own 100 acres you cannot have chickens.

If you have any other questions, please ask.  Thanks for your support.